Perfect ass.

Perfect arms.

Perfect swagger. 

They call Dash Wallace the Diamond King.

He’s the hottest commodity in baseball and in the bedroom.

When he runs the bases, every woman’s eyes are glued to his stunning body and a smile that puts the night lights to shame.

I’m no queen. I’m a regular girl with a regular job. I just watch him on TV and from the bleachers, season after season. 

Girls like me grab a guy like that one in a million times.

My number just came up, and he is as spectacular in bed as he is on the field.

But there’s not a woman in the world who can distract Dash Wallace from the game. Not for a moment. Not even me.

Until the night I do. And everything changes.

Hardball is a SMOKING HOT, SEXY romance with a touch of angst and a ton of heart from CD Reiss. It’s a fun, witty, full-length standalone meant for the over-eighteen crowd.

GOODREADS LINK:  https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24982471-hardball

I loved Dash and Vivian’s story – two people who are “risk averse” but show it through very different decisions and actions. Both are meticulous in how they live and what they believe, but they also can’t rid their thoughts of each other, which makes them question whether or not they need to change their life plans and form new rules – ones that allow them to explore what’s between them even though it could get messy and create a series of catastrophes that leave Dash and Vivian feeling completely off balance in both delicious and maddening ways.

Dash Wallace is a master on the diamond due to his single mindedness when it comes to his methods and routines during the season. He’s worked incredibly hard to be where he is in his professional baseball career and he’s unwilling to risk doing anything that affects his performance. So when Vivian Foster hits his radar and remains in his sights even after she refuses to play things his way, Dash is at war with himself as to the limits he’s willing to go in order to get Vivian underneath him without disrupting his routine and usurping his control.

Vivian Foster has lived cautiously for most of her life, never truly experiencing anything reckless or unstructured, so when the man of her baseball dreams shows interest in her and wants to show her how to let go and give in to her reckless desires, she does everything she can to keep her heart out of the equation because a man who sets up his life with expiration dates and planned encounters is not someone she can risk giving her heart to…too bad she never stood a chance, though, because once she realizes who Dash Wallace truly is underneath all that hotness and skill, she can’t help but willingly succumb to his advances falling deeper with every dirty text, book discussion, and amazing sexual encounter.

Regardless of how diligent both Dash and Vivian are in maintaining control of their feelings and staying within the confines of their own rules, real relationships cannot be regimented or completely planned out, forcing them both to determine when everything is on the line what defines who they are and what they want most for their lives.

HardBall is not C.D. Reiss’ typical storyline, which showcases her ability to diversify her writing while maintaining complex characters and a rich and entertaining plot. Because readers are privy to both Dash and Vivian’s perspectives, we are truly able to understand what each of them is risking by giving into their desires for one another and the potential hazards to what has defined them for much of their adult life. Dash is quite the dirty talker, but there’s also a depth to him that we are able to witness as well and I have to say that because I know what it’s like to live with someone with ADD, it makes perfect sense to me why Dash tries to live his life as structured and planned out as he can and the complications that can prove disastrous if control and routine is turned upside down. But, sometimes, going off the rails and feeling off balance due to an overload of emotions can actual head a person in a direction that ultimately is better than the one previously established.

A complimentary copy was provided in exchange for an honest review.

4.5 Poison Apples